Realistic or Modern Westbrook

[Soap]

Caleb

"Kit Kats?" As confused as he was, he snapped the picture of the three with a lopsided smile. He stared at it a little more closely, nodding and agreeing with Tatum's statement. It was a good photo, definitely something he wanted to keep around. Maybe he'll show his mom, a little something to make her smile shouldn't hurt, he sent it to her through their text messages and he tried his best to ignore the 'have fun with Serena!' with the little smiley emojis.

He glanced up to watch the announcement from the principal, and... Caleb didn't really feel any way about it. Y'know? Good for them.

He never really had a big problem with the principal, or any of the teachers so, let's hope it stays that way. "It wasn't? It's a little weird to be honest, why would someone just... give up on their job. Kinda sad." He raised a brow and returned to watching them announce prom queen.

The silence around the room was hard to watch, especially hearing them call for Ash at least three times. Murmurs had gone around before Erin had went on stage, prying the microphone from Elise's hands. "Well, since Ash is not here to accept the crown, it goes to our runner up, which is..." Erin didn't seem to happy with the result by the grimace on her face before she plastered on a smile.

"Juliette Jameson!"

It was quiet for a long moment before Caleb had decided to end the silence with him bringing up his hands to clap and soon after others joined in.

Elf_Ruler

​

 

[0k_mang0]

sebastian

Location: school
Ash Winona , Sean PenguinFox , @ Necktie Dede​

Sebastian couldn’t say most of the night was very interesting, at least to him. He recorded the school mascot making an appearance, which was pretty random. And then there was the announcement of Principal Nona’s resignation. That was unexpected. He was sure his aunt would be glad to hear about it later. As they announced prom king and queen, Sebastian took a quick look at his Twitter timeline. He was about to message Ash, but he noticed Sean’s post. He started following Sean’s Twitter account a few days after they’d met two months ago. The thread confused him even after rereading it a few more times — Grash? Ash in the hospital? What was going on?

Suddenly, his phone rang. His aunt was calling him from a car crash scene. What’s going on? he asked. And that was when she told him: Ash and her friend were in a car accident, and she was at the hospital right now.

Oh, no. This felt too familiar. He looked around — all of the prom-goers looked content. None of them felt like they felt the air getting tighter to breathe in. None of them heard a deafening rapid pounding of their hearts ready to burst... Before he knew it, Sebastian was outside. He had already hung up the call by the time he left the gym. Whether he brought his camera with him or not, he couldn’t remember, but he would worry about that later.

He would also worry about the bike that he impulsively stole from the school bike rack to ride to the hospital. What kind of dunce left their bike randomly unsecured for his convenience? Who knows.

 

[Winona]

Drake


He'd been readying himself to go on stage and announce the king and queen. The winners were no surprise, but it was something he was excited to do. Something that would pull his thoughts and emotions away from everything that had been going on with Maisie, and Aaron, and at home--

"Hurt me. Do it."

He had just stepped out of the gym into the hallway to get some untainted water, when he heard Maisie's voice. Just ahead of him were Maisie and Aaron. He was shocked still for a moment, and then the door slammed behind him.

That was enough to push him back into using his brain and thinking. God, he wished he had Mason with him. Mason would know what to do. What would Mason do if the girl he liked had just asked his former BFF to hurt her?

Well that was easy enough. Mason would punch him, but Drake didn't exactly enjoy scraps like his older brother.

But he would not let Maisie get hurt.

"No!" He yelled, running forward and pushing himself between Maisie and Aaron. "I don't know what's going on, but don't you dare touch Maisie and hurt her." He said. "Or... or else."

Soap mikaluvkitties​

 

[mikaluvkitties]

Aaron​

Aaron's chest squeezed, and his heart beat faster and faster, but he refused to let the panic and fear and care and that overbearing sadness that was trying to seep in show on his face. He refused to even acknowledge any of it's presence. He felt airy, more and more removed from himself and his actions as he tried to think of what he could do, of how he could still make this bad, make this a clean cut.

It occurred to Aaron that Maisie was in his face, was crying, that slapping her would be easy and perhaps even necessary with how hysterical she was becoming, but he couldn't do it. He couldn't, and he tried to tell himself it was because she was a girl, and he wouldn't hit a girl without a good reason, but deep down, he doubted that was true. Of course, he couldn't just tell her that he couldn't, could he? That would make things far too messy.

Still not quite sure what he was saying, with a touch of compassion that had somehow slunk in without Aaron's permission, Aaron said, "Maisie-"

And then, like a miracle in disguise, Drake was there, between him and Maisie and threatening him, and it was easy. It was so, so easy.

Still with that far away feel and that rapid beat of his heart, Aaron swung with practiced precision, hitting Drake right in the face. Sure, there were other places he could have hit him, other things he could have done, but this was the flashiest, and this would probably prove the point the best.

It was only after that Aaron really let Drake's words sit with him, staring at Drake with that still calm expression, anger bubbling up inside. Everyone thought he would punch Maisie, didn't they?

Maybe it was some sort of flaw that he couldn't.

Soap Winona​

 

[Winona]

Drake

"FUCK."

Drake's head snapped back, and he heard a crunch as his nose snapped underneath Aaron's fist. He stumbled backwards, throwing his hands against his face to try and stop the flow of blood pouring down his face and coating his hands.

"I didn't think you'd actually punch me! Dude, I thought we were fucking friends!" Tears had started to gather in his eyes because let's be honest, a broken nose hurts like fucking hell. But not as much as straight up betrayal by someone you used to rob stores with and get high alongside. Like what in the hell had Aaron done?

But he wasn't able to spend a lot of time trying to think of a rebuttal.

-------------------------

Mason


Strange, that the new "principal" had announced the prom queen and not his brother. Mason knew that Drake had been looking forward to it. So Mason decided to go investigating -- plus, he didn't need to stay around and listen to Elise. In just one short month, Mason was going to have left this fucking place and graduated.

He headed out into the hallway as Aaron's dumb little fist slammed into his little brother's face, and then there was blood everywhere, and all that Mason's dark amber eyes could see now was red.

"Who in the fucking world do you think you are?" His voice was cold and filled with hatred as he stormed towards the three of them. There was no hesitation as his hands slammed into Aaron's chest, throwing him into the stone wall behind him. And then his fist slammed into Aaron's face, over and over again.

He grabbed the front of Aaron's shirt and threw him to the ground. "Fucking trash. You can't fucking beat up Stu and then punch my little brother's face, you fucking dickhead."

And then Mason was on top of him, slamming his fist into Aaron's face over and over again.

Soap mikaluvkitties​

 

[Winona]

Jace


He was shaking as he parked his car and headed into the hospital with Stu.

Jace had tried to post on Twitter to let other students know what had happened, but his tweet had been a mess. He'd given his phone to Stu, but that had been even more of a mess.

He headed into the hospital. Jace wasn't sure where to even go or what to do, but thankfully his dad came over to the two boys.

"Glad you could make it," his father was breathless. "She's... stable. But she had a seizure and is hooked up to oxygen right now. They won't know the extent of her injuries until later." His father's voice was wavering as he spoke. Stable wasn't exactly what anyone wanted to hear about their little sister after getting to the hospital.

"Grace is in another room. I don't know how she's doing, but... I'm going to go back in there with her." Steve West had seen a lot in his days as a cop, but nothing had prepared him for this. "You need to stay up here for now with... uh... this wolf, but I'll let you know when you can come back to see her." His father said, before leaving.

Dede​

 

[Dede]

Neck Tie

Neck Tie’s heart dropped when he finally found out what happened. The whole car ride was just him panicking and asking Jace what he knew, over and over again. ‘Can’t you step on it?’ No, that wasn’t such a good idea. The last thing they wanted to do was get in an accident on the tollway themselves. It was better to get to the hospital in their own car rather than in an ambulance.

Jace was a nervous driver, and Neck Tie was a nervous passenger. The latter spilled out of the car as soon as it was parked. The door caught his wolf tail, and he when he tugged on it out of desperation it ripped and came off him, and he took a tumble.

The clueless pair arrived at the front desk. Everyone was looking at him funny because he was a wolf. Racist. Thankfully Mr. West was there to brief them. It sounded bad, really bad. But Ash was stable -- and that was the important thing.

What about Grace? Why. . . why was she in a different room? Why was nobody going to see her?

Although Mr. West told him to stay behind, Neck Tie had other ideas. Such as finding Grace. Why? Because he maybe secretly liked her, that’s why.

He trailed after Mr. West into the ICU, and suddenly he was in a place where he wasn't supposed to be. Good thing he knew the place pretty well from his previous trips here. It wasn't exactly easy trying to sneak around in a wolf costume, so instead he acted like he was supposed to be there, going straight up to the nurse and asking to see his sister Grace.

'My sister -- please, I don't know where she is. She was in a car accident. . .'

'What's your last name?'

'Um. . . Jackson,' he said.

'OK. . .' The nurse paused. '-- why do you look familiar?'

'What?'

'Nothing. Come this way.'

She led him to Grace's room, which was empty. At first he was afraid to walk up to Grace, but eventually he made it to her bedside. He stood there covering his mouth, possibly also biting his fingers a bit. Was he turning into Casper?

'Grace, can you. . . can you hear me?'

It didn't look like she knew he was there, but in case she did he kept talking to her.

'You're gonna be OK,' he said. 'I promise.'

He figured he'd stay there until Grace's family showed up, but suddenly the machine started beeping, almost frantically. He'd seen enough films to know this was no good sign. Neck Tie ran outside and shouted for the nurses. 'HELP!' he hollered at the top of his lungs. They came rushing down the corridor and he backed into the corner of the room, watching the scene unfold in horror.

Winona Soap

 

[Elf_Ruler]

As the prom queen was announced Tatum was concerned as to where Ash really was. She then clapped along with Caleb as he cheered for JJ, even though Tatum didn’t know her well, she had seen her around the halls. She had tuned out a lot of what had happened after, but she had glanced at Twitter and had seen the Ash and Grace had been hurt in an accident. Of course, she was concerned and worried for them, but she knew she couldn’t help them. She made a quick response in hopes to hear a response and then put her phone away. This was a night that she hoped she could remember for the good and not the bad. She let her hand slide into Caleb’s and smiled when he didn’t pull away. Her excitement was soaring as her hand was in his, for her this was a start. Everything was going better than she had expected. She had never expected him to want the same thing at least in a small aspect. Of course, she didn’t pay attention to who was named prom king she was just elated to be with Caleb in the moment

As the music played for the prom king and queen to dance Tatum looked to Caleb with hope in her eyes. She placed her arms around his neck and let her head rest on him. It was their night and she wouldn’t let anything ruin it. As much as she acted like she hated romance and love she also really wanted to be appreciated by someone and feel like someone wanted her for her. Caleb made her feel all of that and more. The way he talked with her about life, joked around with her, and made everything easy when it came to spending time with one another. In every movie Tatum had watched about romance this would’ve been the moment for a first kiss between the two love interests, but Tatum wanted this moment for them and as much as she wanted to kiss him, she couldn’t let herself. She needed to tell him, she needed him to know even if it meant their friendship would end. She let her eyes look at Caleb and placed one hand on his face, “Caleb.” She started and every part of her body was scared, “I don’t want to be friends.” She was quiet for a second after still building up courage.

The scenario had always played out differently in her mind, “I want to be more than that with you. You make life so much easier for me and I’m happier with you. I get if you don’t feel the same way, but I just needed to tell you.” Her heart was still pounding after she had told him everything. She had moved her eyes down so as not to see his reaction. She had gotten used to rejection and she had felt his reaction would also be rejection.

Soap

 

[mikaluvkitties]

Aaron​

Friends. Drake had still thought of them as friends. In Drake's eyes, this had been the end of their friendship. This, not that horrid fight in the art room. He began to laugh, and it was a horrid sound, sharp and cutting as Drake's words bounced around his head.

What in the hell did the world ever do to make you such a fucked up, heartless person?

For a second, Aaron imagined telling him just that, played out the way horror and disgust and best of all guilt would flash across his face, sure in the fact he would never see it- Not from anyone.

His laughter cut off at the sound of a voice, and he turned almost dumbly to see Mason coming towards him, and his heart froze as his face flattened save for a pair of lifted eyebrows.

Vaguely, it occurred to Aaron he should run, but really, that would probably just piss Mason off.

Maybe he should have at least put his arms up.

Mason threw him, and he hit the wall hard, breath pressing out of him with a harsh huff. He hadn't even fully processed it when Mason's fist hit his face the first time.

It hit him again and again, and he could barely process each sharp pain layering on to the building throb engulfing his face. And then he was on the floor.

He took a gasp, fighting the pointless urge to run. Mason was saying something, but frankly, Aaron had more pressing concerns to worry about. He tapped hand gently around his face, assessing the damage. His eyes were beginning to burn, and he shut them tight, frowning. He wasn't about to cry. Not over this.

He began to wonder if this was how Stu had felt. Probably not. That had likely been worse. But Stu had started crying early, hadn't he? At least Aaron hadn't done that.

A weight pressed down on Aaron, the familiar feeling of someone on top of him, and his heart stopped. He felt like he couldn't breathe, and everything in him screamed to be still.

So he remained still, eyes shut tight, even as Mason hit him again, then again, then again.

Soap Winona​

 

[KingofAesir]

Sawyer

​

Sawyer burst through the hospital in a wave of worry. She caught sight of Stu passing by an orderly and she took after him, figuring that he was going to see Grace. She was breezing past the orderly that had let Stu in before she could even mutter a word. Stu was already in the room by the time Sawyer turned the corner in and she came to a halt when Stu appeared out of the room again, shouting for help. A herd of nurses shoved past her and Sawyer stood there, her breath caught in her throat. She watched as they all shoved their way into Grace's room and slowly started to walk toward it. Her heart stopped as she watched all these strangers huddled around a motionless and unresponsive Grace in the hospital bed.

Sawyer took two fumbling steps away from the door and found herself crumbling against the wall next to it. Her eyes were wide and her breaths were ragged. For the first time in two months, Sawyer cried. And not just some measley trickles either, she was in shock, terrified even. Sawyer didn't know what she'd do it...no. No, she wasn't going to think like that. Sawyer buried her head in her hands and tried to choke down scared whimpers.

Sawyer had always hated hospitals. They smelled like death.

 

[PenguinFox]

Tallulah's grin couldn't be wider as she felt Jackson's arms wrap around her. She twisted herself around in his arms and hugged him tightly. When she pulled away she took a step back to take him in. He cleaned up very well. "You look very dashing." she said softly, moving in and placing a gentle kiss on his lips. Pulling away again she looked at the three people who were closest with her, grinning wide. "C'mon, let's take some pictures!" she led the group into the living where she had her digital camera set up on a tripod. She made sure it was all set up and together with her friend, boyfriend and brother took several pictures. Enough to ensure her dad would be satisfied.

Once pictures were done the small group piled into Sean's car and headed off to prom. They were only a little late but it was fine, loads of people were late anyway and proms tended to get better as the night goes on anyway. Lulu didn't really know how to dance, or at least not in ways that were from this century. Nobody ever seemed surprised to learn that Lulu knew how to ballroom dance. Rest assured though every slow song they could get Lulu was huddled up close to Jackson, swaying gently with him. He had told her that he wasn't the best at dancing either so just being close to him was enough for her. More and more over the time she's spent with him Lulu has fallen for Jackson. She had been planning on taking a new step in their relationship tonight but was waiting for the right moment to do so.

Sean spent much of the night at a table, constantly checking his phone. He searched around for Ash once he had gotten there, even asked a bunch of people but no one had seemed to have seen her. He sent her a bunch of texts and even called her a couple times but still nothing. This was weird, something was not right. The tightness in his chest increased, then he saw it. The tweet stating Ash had been in a car accident. He froze for a few moments, unable to process this information; terrified and not knowing what to do. The tightness in Sean's chest turned into a sharp physical pain. It felt like someone was stabbing him in the chest. He had gotten hot welding slag on him before and was a similar feeling, except it felt as if coming from inside his chest. Finally his brain caught up and he snapped into action. He shot up from his chair, sending it falling backwards with a loud clang. He honestly didn't care, even if people stared. Whatever speech that was going on on stage didn't matter to him. He needed to get to Ash, and nothing was going to stop him. Probably.

At hearing the clang of a chair tipping over Lulu lifted her head from Jackson's chest to see what the commotion was about. She saw her brother running from the room and with a very concerned glance to her boyfriend she started after him. The Woods sister took a few steps, stopped, turned back and grabbed Jackson's hand and then continued to chase after her brother. Something was wrong and she wanted to help. It was very rare for Sean Woods to panic.

By the time Lulu had dragged Jackson into the hallway Sean was most of the way down it. "Sean! Wait up! What's going on?" she called out. Sean stopped and let the two catch up. His breathing was ragged and strained though he only ran a small distance. "A-Ash....car accident...hospital..." he managed to spit out between panting. His voice was as bad as his breathing. He just couldn't seem to get enough air, and his chest felt like is was entirely on fire now. Lulu began to shake with fear, both for Ash's safety and her brothers. Car accidents were no joke, but something seemed to be wrong with Sean right now. He was a physically fit individual yet he was practically doubled over from a short sprint. The redhead gave her boyfriend a worried look. "We will go right away then, but are you okay Sean? You're breathing very heavily, I'm kinda scared." her voice was extremely anxious and her grip tightened on Jackson's hand.

Sean barely heard his sister's voice. The whole world around him seemed to blurring in all his senses. The pain in his chest was excruciating but he felt tired at the same time. A bit of panic began to set in, but he couldn't do anything. Sean couldn't feel his legs anymore. His arm reached out to support himself against the wall but crumpled against it immediately, sending Sean's body limply to the floor as everything went dark.

Everything happened so quick that Lulu didn't have any time to react. One second she was talking to her brother the next he was on the ground and she wasn't sure he was breathing. She began screaming his name over and over trying to get him to wake up, or to wake herself up from whatever nightmare this may be. She knelt down beside her brother and tried checking for a pulse but her hands were shaking too much. Terrified tears began streaming down her face. She looked to Jackson, absolutely paralyzed. "Oh my god what do we do?" Daniel Reaving Mentions: Winona

 

[Daniel Reaving]

Jackson
Jackson was having the time of his life. Letting his smile grow as his lips met with his beautiful girlfriends. As she pulled away his head followed hers just for a second. Not wanting to stop this sweet sensation leave quite yet, But he knew now wasn’t the time and let the kiss end. “Well I couldn’t look bad for my princess now could I?” He whispered softly to her with a brighter smile. Looking up as Talulah mentioned photos he went back to his more quiet smile as he followed them all. Being completely cooperative with his girlfriend through the photos and up into the car. Of course he would have much preferred to ride in his second love but of course he didn’t complain when they took Sean’s car. Of course taking the backseat with luluh he spent the ride relaxing with her. Holding gently onto her and of course giving her little kisses here and there as well as endless compliments to just how beautiful she was. This truly was at least to him, with Talulah by his side going to be the best night of his life.

Jackson was surprised by Talulahs dancing skills, he never danced so he couldn’t judge but he was still a little surprised. Happily slow dancing the night away with her. Each dance with her only brough a bigger smile to his face, holding her so close in his arms was the best feeling he could have. He knew Talulah wanted to take it slow and was perfectly fine with it, for her he would gladly go as slow as she wanted. With that in mind though Jackson had fallen for her, he wanted to say that he loved her, truly honestly did. He had planned to tell her tonight but... then things went south. His head shooting up from its rested position against Talulahs as he looked in the same direction she had to see Sean. Then the feeling of Talulah in his arms was gone before a moment later she was dragging him off to check on Sean.

Following closely behind Talulah as they chased after Sean through the halls. “Sean wait up man!” He called to him just before hearing the strain in his voice as he told them about ash. Taking a few bigger strides he passed up Talulah in an attempt to better catchup with Sean. “Sean are you ok? Man you gotta slow down!” He said between strides as he followed him. He knew something was off. The strained breaths, Talulahs hand gripping his with worry, Then he fell. Out of nowhere Sean crumpled to the floor, Jackson reacting a little faster than Talulah as he let go of her hands and reached out to try and catch Sean but was a second to late. Watching Talulah crumple to her knees at Sean’s side in worry and scream his name as well as try to check his pulse. Quickly Jackson dropped by her side. With urgency but also gently he reached over gently grabbing Talulah’s shaking hand from Sean’s neck and holding it gently in his hand.

His eyes locking on hers the same time she looked to him. Gently he cupped her left cheek with his free hand. “Baby I need you to calm down ok.” He said clear worry in his voice but he was way more composed than she was at the moment. “It’s gonna be alright but I need you to listen to me carefully. Breath baby, relax a little. I need you to call 911 now.” He said in a calm soothing tone as he removed his hand from her cheek and handed her his phone. “Calm down alright. it’s gonna be ok.” He said to her again to try and smooth her clearly wired nerves. Once she had the phone he put his hand to her cheek once again as one last soothing gesture to her before his attention turned entirely to Sean. Reaching over he gently laid him on his back. “Sean buddy you with me? I need you to say something alright man, show me some sign.” He said down to Sean as he leaned down. Putting his head level with Sean’s chest and looking to see if he was breathing or not. He never thought knowing CPR would ever come in handy but Right now it surely was. “he’s not breathing, I’m going to start CPR.” He said calmly before he grabbed at Seans shirt and ripped it open at the buttons. From there he places an open hand on his chest, lacing his fingers with it and lifting his fingers he started pushing down. The sound deffinetly wasn’t pleasant as the cracking of Seans ribs rang out in the hall as he did compressions. “baby I need you to call 911 and get me the AED.” He said to her

PenguinFox​

 

[txlos]

Nova

​

It wasn't going to be over until it could be started... she knew that. Of course she knew that. But that didn't mean that the realization of said thing made the actual thing any easier. More than anything, Nova's fear revolved around seeing Ian. She hadn't a clue what she would say or do, or even really how to feel. How could she? A couple months went by, and this was different than coming home to Jace. Ian felt ten time deeper than the beanie boy did, he processed things philosophically as if he could come to a correct conclusion on how to feel. But more than that, he had cared for her unconditionally. And what thanks did Nova give the blonde singer in return?

She had left.

Returning was the scariest part... but it was better to face the bull head on at this point. Mustering up the courage, the brunette popped her red stained lips together once before pushing her bare back off of the cold metal of her truck and began the trudge up to the prom. The music grew louder with each step, the lights teeming every corner of Nova's vision with every passing glance towards the auditorium. This was supposed to be a good thing, a happy thing, and for fuck's sake, for once in her life she wasn't going to allow her anxiety to ruin it for her.

Plastering a smile onto her face took more energy than originally imagined, but by the time Nova got to the doorway and stepped through, everything seemed to be just a little less scary. Blues, red, oranges and whites covered every inch of the place. Candles lit in icicle holders, a large bowl of punch that could quench the thirst of an army, her peers seemed to not have a care in the world. The air faintly smelled of watered down alcohol and perfume as Nova weaved through the crowd to get to the corners of the room, not wanting to draw too much attention yet, although it was a little too late for that now.

Now that Ian was right in front of her.

"Hi,"

It was just a breath, accompanied by the softest of grins as her hands laced together in front of her, falling to sweep against the powder blue fabric of her dress. Starstruck could've been a way to put it, but it was more an overwhelming feeling of calm. He looked like Ian, his presence felt like Ian... and the fact that nothing had changed was the most wonderful feeling of homecoming that Nova could've asked for.

PenguinFox

 

[Soap]

Maisie

Maisie was willing to get hurt to prove a point, He wouldn’t hurt her, she knew that and it was clear that Aaron did too, at least it was to Maisie. She waited for him to finish his sentence and it never came, everything was happening too fast. Maisie could’ve sworn she yelled out for Drake, but by the time Mason had started fighting Aaron, she was on the floor with both hands covering her ears. She couldn’t hear the pained grunts or muffled curses, her eyes were shut tight because she didn’t want to see the drops of blood or just how badly Aaron was getting hurt. Her heart sputtered out of control and she couldn’t catch her breath. “No, no, no.” Was all Maisie kept repeating. The strong girl that had moments ago stood in Aaron’s face didn’t exist anymore.

As much as she wanted to think otherwise, Maisie was still that scared little girl who had no-where to go. She’d been in situations like this too many times to count and each time it felt like it got harder to watch, or even more painful to feel if she was the one who was getting hurt.

She thought she’d be numb to all of this by now, but it always came back. She wasn’t strong enough to hold back all those thoughts that’d flashed into her head, she couldn’t even remember their faces how long ago it could’ve been, but her brain had now replaced it with Aaron and that alone was enough to send her into a spiral.

Winona mikaluvkitties

Kate

Kate had been a nervous wreck all night. She’d gotten the call hours ago and she still felt as though she was in her own nightmare. The phone was ringing off the wall with ‘worried’ co-workers and clients who needed an opinion on how to make themselves seem like someone the jury would feel for, she could care less about them. Grace was the only thing she was worrying about. They’d done some tests and she went to the cafeteria to get something warm to drink as if it’d help her shaking hands and the thoughts penetrated her brain. It was always just her and Grace, ever since Jonathan had left all those years ago Kate had made peace with it. No matter how many Jonathans, Steves, or Davids decided to leave her, she wasn’t going to let her daughter go. Returning back to Grace’s room, the noises from the machine, and the nurses that had rushed past only confirmed that Kate’s fears were true.

It was out of her control.

The coffee had fallen to the floor without a care in the world and she rushed into the room along with them despite the very few and persistent ‘You can’t be in here.’ But a literal costumed wolf was in the corner of Grace’s room and there was no way she wasn’t going to be, Kate made her way towards them and carefully watched them attempt to resuscitate her daughter. Normally, she wasn’t a woman who’d break down but this was an exception.

After the longest few minutes of her life, the machine had returned to normal, which meant her heart did too. Kate sighed of relief and wiped her tears away. The doctors beside her had told her something about internal bleeding and surgery, and Kate hardly paid attention, she just nodded over and over giving them permission to take Grace to surgery, she had caught Sawyer’s eye and as much as Kate had despised her daughter’s ex girlfriend, she wasn’t very surprised why she was here in the first place.

Now there was only Kate and the WestBrook wolf in the hospital room alone, which meant there was only one more thing she needed to take care of.

“Who the hell are you?”

Dede KingofAesir​

 

[Winona]

Jace had barely even processed Stu leaving the room to go and find Grace. Instead, he was sitting in the waiting room, trying to keep himself as distracted as possible from what was going on. Deep breaths and all that. He was still shaking a bit, and he was trying his best to fight back the tears, but... god, he couldn't lose Ash.

His dad finally came back out. He looked exhausted, but he gestured for Jace to come over to him. Jace was expecting the worse, but instead.... well, she wasn't dead, but it wasn't good.

"She'll live, but she'll have... problems." His father started to explain.

"I got in." Jace said, interrupting his father, his blue-eyed gaze focused on the ground. "I got into the college I wanted to. I... I was going to move to LA. That's what I wanted to tell you guys, but..." His voice caught in his throat, his bottom lip trembling as he moved his gaze to focus on his father's understanding face instead.

"I know, son."

And just like that, he was stuck again in Westbrook.

----------------------------------

She had woken up when they were rushing her through the hospital hallways. Ash had tried to move, to fight back, but nothing was working. Why weren't her legs or arms moving?

Ash had passed back out following that, and hadn't come back to consciousness again until she was considered "stable." Her dad was next to her, and now so was Jace. They both looked sad, but relieved, and tired, and Ash just felt horrible for even putting them in this position. There was still an oxygen mask on her face, but she couldn't lift her hand to move it.

A nurse came over, pulling the oxygen mask from her face, and Ash took in her first breath of normal air and.... wow, okay, fuck, everything in her body really hurt. And now it was even more obvious and easy to feel from her lungs rattling to draw whatever oxygen it could out of the air around her, but hey. At least she could feel in her chest.

"Hey, Ash." Jace's voice was wavering. "How are you feeling? I, uh... I told Twitter, so like, I think your boyfriend should be on his way to check on you. And if there's anyone else--"

"Ryder?"

"What?" Jace's face twisted in confusion. "No, not Ryder."

"Oh..." Ash's face visibly fell, her eyes falling shut for a moment. Boyfriend yes, right. Boyfriend. She had one of those. Who was it? Oh yeah, right. How could she forget?

Her eyes opened back up. "Kanen?"

"No!" Jace was just confused, and bothered now. "Sean. Remember?"

"Oh..." she said slowly. "Yeah I love him."

"Sean?"

"No, Ryder."

Jace just looked at his dad, helplessly and very confused. "What the hell?" Personally, he hated Ryder, so he was just incredibly offended and disgusted by Ash's words. Plus, if Sean was on his way and heard what Ash was saying... well, he couldn't even begin to imagine that kind of pain. Oh wait, yes he could, and it hurt like nothing else.

"Traumatic brain injury. She's just... confused, give her a couple days." Steve replied to his son, even though he was worried. He pulled a nearby chair over and sat down next to Ash, taking her hand in his. "Sweetheart, can you feel this? He asked, gently running his fingers over the back of her hand. Her eyes turned to look at what he was doing for a moment, blank and unmoving for a moment, and Steve's stomach lurched. But then Ash slowly nodded her head, and relief flooded him.

"Ash do you remember what happened? What caused the accident?" Steve knew it was a long-shot, but it was all he had. As far as he knew, Grace still wasn't responsive.

"Drugs."

"What?"

"Ate drug."

His stomach started churning. "Ash, who do you get drugs from?"

"Ummm..." Ash's face twisted into confusion. She couldn't really remember anything that had happened before the accident. Dresses... Grace... lights... that little pill... and Kanen. Kanen equalled drugs. They must've come from Kanen. Yeah, that made total sense. They were friends right? Maybe that was why they had fought before.

"Kanen."

"Kanen gave you drugs?"

"Umm... yes."

Jace looked across Ash's bed at Steve. That didn't make much sense to him, but if Ash had said it... "Her and Kanen haven't even been talking. She met with Drake right before she left to get Grace. Maybe he knows something." After all, Drake did run in that circle -- obviously -- and maybe he was a delivery boy or something. Who knows?

"Tired. Am... oww." Ash's voice started to slur as she spoke.

"I know, Ash. Close your eyes, go to sleep. Everything's going to be alright."

Steve waited until Ash closed her eyes to look at Jace. "Hey, why don't you go make sure there's no one waiting outside to see her? Maybe try to get a hold of your mother and let her know what happened, alright?" Jace just numbly nodded his head in agreement, and turned and headed out of the room, his body still shaking.

God, she wasn't alright.

Steve waited until Jace was out of the room, and Ash's breath had slowed with that of sleep. Then he lowered his head and let himself start crying.​

 

[PenguinFox]

Ian had been watching everyone moving about, enjoying themselves, for what felt like forever but was probably only ten minutes or so. His shoulders ached but that had been a constant since Spring Break. With everything that happened he couldn't find any reason to not slip back into his old habits, which only caused things to spiral further. He began biting the inside of his lip, gently at first, but slowly increasing in pressure until he was wincing in pain; until he tasted blood. It was a pleasant change to feel something, anything at all besides an all consuming darkness. The more Ian thought, the more he wanted to leave. There was nothing for him here, or anywhere really.

Just as Ian pushed himself off of the wall he was leaning on to leave he came face to face with someone he wasn't entirely sure he would see again. But there she was, Nova, absolutely gorgeous in her prom dress, back like she never left. The Evans boy wasn't entirely sure he wasn't hallucinating. One last ditch effort from his brain to bring some kind of joy. He stared at her blankly for a few moments saying nothing. After blinking a couple times the smallest of smiles rose to his face. "Hey."

So many emotions raced through Ian's mind; relief, happiness, hurt. He needed time to process all this. Of course he was overjoyed that his girlfriend was back, assuming he could still call her that. He was relieved she was okay too. She didn't seem to be in any kind of distress and Jace wasn't anywhere to be found at the moment. But Ian had learned most things were too good to be true in life. Life gives you small doses of happiness and then finds some way to kick you. At least that's how it seemed. Most of all he was hurt. He could understand leaving and saying nothing, but coming back? That would have meant she was able to contact people again, yet she deliberately chose not to contact him. Not even a 'Hey, I'm coming back to Westbrook'. Not. A. Single. Word. Didn't he matter to her? Shouldn't she have wanted to get in contact with him again as soon as possible? She didn't though, and that was what hurt the most. What cut Ian much deeper than he ever could. txlos

 

[txlos]

Nova

​

The silence scared her more than anything. It wasn't the way Ian's face had twisted from a blissful excitement to a furrow of frustration, nor was it how his shoulders seemed to relax then tense back up in a pin-drop. No, neither of those things scared her more than the blaring, deafening lack of words that were being voided by two people that cared so much for one another but couldn't muster anything past the simplest of greetings. It hurt, but not in a stabbing and sudden sort of way. No, this was more a dull ache. A familiar ache at that. As if she had felt this feeling before, this lump in her throat and weight in her chest all being something of a deja-vu and-

Oh yeah... Jace.

She'd been in this position before; this position of unintentional abandonment with a lock down of communication. Jace hadn't exactly waited for her, and who was to say the Ian had either? In both cases, she had hurt to men that she genuinely cared about, and there was no taking that back. Even now, the brunette's phone seemed to burn in her pocket as she waited for a text from Jace. He'd said he would be here, didn't he? Maybe he had ditched... wasn't his scene after all. As for Ian well, here she was again. No good explanation, no good reasons other than her mother's lawyer telling her to cut off communication for a bit, no good right to waltz back in and expect some big homecoming. To be fair, that was never expected... so all she could do now was hope to attempt to mend things.

"I'm sorry,"

It came out stuttered, unsure and wavering. Nova was sorry, hell she was more than sorry but right now she just wanted the static nothingness to go away. The minute she had said it, music flooded to her ears, the sounds of her classmates laughing and chattering among themselves. It felt like she could breath, pulling herself up from her drowning state. The brunette even took a long, deep breath before dropping her eyes to her hands. "There was another court hearing with my father and I wasn't supposed to be talking to anyone, and if I'm honest I thought you would've just moved on and forgotten about me. I didn't want to tell you I was coming back in case you had someone else, I didn't want to be a burden, I thought it would just be better if I just, y'know-" A sharp inhale cut off her rambling, hazel eyes floating back to adjust on the blonde's piercing stare. He looked tired, worn even. As if life hadn't exactly been treating him kindly. And of course, Nova couldn't help the spear of guilt that pierced into her gut.

"I thought it would be better if I just showed up."

Int.: PenguinFox /// Mentions: Winona

 

[KingofAesir]

Sawyer​

Sawyer was having a really hard time pulling her head together. One side of her was confident that Grace would be okay and the other half was freaking the hell out going over all this ridiculous scenarios. Okay, maybe more that half. Sawyer barely registered Kate rushing into the room. She was spiraling and she really needed to do something about it before she had a panic attack. Sawyer sprang to her feet and started pacing back and forth in front of Grace's room, terrified to step foot in it. She ran a hand through her hair once, twice, three times. Shit. Sawyer pressed the palms of her hands against her pants, trying to stop the shaking. A glance was spared into the room and she saw the nurses beginning to wheel Grace out if the room. Sawyer jumped out of the way just was the door burst open and caught a glance of Grace's face as they wheeled her past.

"Is she-" Sawyer tried following after them but a nurse softly shoved her away and Sawyer stopped. She paused for a second, wiped at her face and promptly turned on her heel back toward the room. She was gonna be okay. She had to be okay. Even if they weren't together at the moment, Sawyer needed her. She still needed her.

"Mrs.Jackson? Are they....is she gonna be okay? I-I'm sorry." Sawyer choked back more tears trying to come out as she entered the room, casting a worry filled glance at Kate.

Soap Dede

 

[Soap]

Juliette

JJ couldn’t comprehend the words that Sawyer was saying, before she could even offer to go with her she was out the door. At first Juliette had hesitated, she wasn’t sure what to do as her gaze fell upon the dance once more with hesitation. Maybe she should just... go home? That’s right about when they made an announcement about the new principal. Sawyer had mentioned that Elise was... a little messed up, so it couldn’t of been good that she became principal but that wasn’t what set her into an outrage.

It was when Ash was crowned prom queen instead of her, as if she put the work into it, as if she cared enough. The crown was JJ’s and anyone who said otherwise deserved the fiery depths of hell.

Come to think of it, when Ash hadn’t come up on stage, Juliette’s mind wandered back to Sawyer’s mess of words. Whatever had happened with Grace involved Ash. And believe it or not, JJ hopes they were okay.

What? She wasn’t evil.

All of those thoughts quickly disappeared as her own name was called onto the stage. Runner-up? Sure, it pissed her off. But... the crown was hers. She hastily yanked the mic from Erin with a smile. “I’d like to thank you all for voting for me, but I won’t since you all clearly didn’t vote well enough.” Were you expecting her to thank her parents? Yeah, didn't think so.

Prom king results came soon after, and surprise was written onto her face as the winner was announced.
Winona

Raven

Her prom date bailed, half of tonight was spent dropping off a toddler, she didn’t get to dance and she would’ve danced by herself, really, she would’ve. Raven just... wasn’t interested in prom anymore. WestBrook sucked, the people in it sucked, everyone either left her, forgot about her, or straight up died.

It was probably better off without her if she's being honest.

She roamed the halls, it wasn’t long until she came across Mason beating up a freshman. Surprising? No. But he was a dumbass, he’s practically a grown man. “Mason?! What are you doing? Get off of him.” She held his arm before he could get another punch in. “He learned his lesson or whatever, get the fuck off.”

Raven doubted he’d listen, and if he was still going to go for him, she literally has no problem walking away. She didn’t know this kid, and she tried. It’s more than she could say for anyone else.

Most people she knows don’t even try.
Winona mikaluvkitties

Caleb

Caleb smiled as the two swayed together. It was a genuine one too, it wasn’t forced like when he felt like he had to around Serena’s friends, or like when his mother had asked about his so-called ‘friends.’ And he had to pretend as if he truly had any. This moment between the two of them was worth the terrible school year. Everything alone had become too much for him. His mom being sick, the breakup with Serena, his drinking. He’s trying to be better. He really is.

But in this moment none of those bad things mattered. Right now he could just focus on the now. Focus on her. He gazed at her at the mention of his name. “No, no. I...”

His heart fluttered and his breath had caught at her words, he didn’t believe that Tatum would ever like him that way. Maybe it was because of the rumors, the lack of popularity, but it was clear that they didn’t care about either of that despite them being involved in the social cliques. “I feel the same way. I don’t want to be just friends. I like you more than I’ve ever liked... anyone, ever.” Probably a poor choice of words. But Tatum was... wow. “I haven’t been this happy in a long time, and you... you give me that.” Something kept nagging him and he had to tell her. "I'm leaving for the summer." He blurted out before he tried to save it, he hoped that Tatum would... wait for him? That was selfish, wasn't it?

"It's only for a little! I'll be right back the week school starts, and... maybe, uh, we can do a real date?"
Elf_Ruler​

 

[Winona]

Drake

He tried -- he really did -- to get Mason off of Aaron. But the moment that Drake grabbed his brother's arm and yelled to stop, it was like Mason didn't even see him. A bloody fist slammed into his chest, knocking him onto the ground and back a couple feet. Fudge cookies. Now his face hurt and his chest hurt and there was blood on his suit.

Drake sat up, and that's when he seemed to remember the whole reason he had done this.

Maisie.

His pain seemed to be forgotten, because Maisie was panicking and that made Drake hurt inside. And not because his ribs were probably broken, but rather because it hurt him so much to see Maisie in such pain like this.

Drake got up, making his way over to Maisie and blocking her view. "Hey, come on. It'll be alright." Raven's voice echoed down the halls, and Mason quietly thanked whatever little baby lord god had been sent to save Aaron's ass. If anyone could stop Mason, it was probably the girl he really wanted to fuck.

What? His brother was an easy man.

Drake took a hold of Maisie's arm and pulled her up. "We're going to get out of here while they get Aaron cleaned up and it'll be okay, I promise, Maisie. I promise."

He took her away from the scene of the crime, to a nearby classroom where once they entered, nothing could really be heard. Drake made sure to shut the door and turn on the lights, then led Maisie over to a chair, where he sat her down. He probably looked so stupid right now, with his broken, bloodied nose, but oh well.

Drake crouched down in front of her, holding her hands in his. He knew she wasn't much for touching, but sometimes touching was called her. "Maisie, look at me. I'm okay. Aaron will be okay. Just... focus on me, okay? No need to panic. I promise I won't ever let anything hurt you." And yeah, for once, well...

For once he intended to keep a promise.

--------------------------------------

Mason


Sometimes when he got really mad, all Mason could see was red.

And maybe he was really mad today.

He'd tried with June.

He'd tried with Raven.

He'd tried with Sam.

And now Mason was still fucking alone on fucking prom night and it was fucking stupid and he bought the fucking flower but no one could ever fucking stay fucking around enough to actually fucking give him a chance.

So fuck that.

And then he had to watch Stu tell him what happened.

After he carried Stu's bloody body to the hospital.

That little nugget fucker had laid his head in Mason's lap.

And then Mason had watched this little shit treat his brother badly.

And he'd stood back and done nothing.

But now... well, he had nothing to lose, right?

So his fist crashed into Aaron's face again and again. He loved the feeling of bone breaking beneath his skin. Of someone else's blood splattering across his clothes, his hands. It was thrilling, and he was filled with an adrenaline rush like nothing ever before. And there was no way that Mason was going to stop until his frustrations were out.

Well, unless a certain girl touched his arm, and told him to stop.

The world stopped being red and turned back to normal, and Mason was suddenly aware of just what he had done. Surprise and disgust at himself alternated over him as he looked down at Aaron's bloody form. The kid hadn't even tried to fight back -- he'd just given up and... well, that's what Stu had done.

Mason had beaten the bully, but no one was going to see that.

"He... he..." his voice wavered, arm still cocked to bring another punch down on Aaron's face. "He fucking beat up Stu and he fucking punched Drake. Why does he get to fucking walk around like life is great and treat people like shit?" And better yet, why had Maisie chosen this little fucker over his own brother?

Little fucking bitch.

mikaluvkitties Soap​

 

[mikaluvkitties]

Aaron​

Everything hurt. He was vaguely aware that things were breaking, could practically hear it, and could definitely feel it. He shut his eyes tighter, beginning to shake.

Crying would help. That’s why people cried, wasn’t it? But he couldn’t.

He just couldn’t.

He was losing blood, and the worry he might die felt very real in the moment.

And he’d be dying under someone, unable to move, unable to breathe. It was hard to even focus on the pain with that sensation of weight above him, even the cool tile below lacking the punch to ground him.

And then… it stopped. Aaron tried to let his eyes slide open, but everything was swelling, and he really couldn’t. He was stuck here, he realized. Even if this stopped, there was no way for him to move.

Mason was speaking, and as he listed Aaron’s crimes, for a second, Aaron almost felt bad about it.

And then he just kept going, and an anger flooded through him, fruitless and with nothing to do. What gave Mason the right to decide he was in the wrong? Mason, who had gotten into so much shit even Aaron, some nobody Freshman, had heard about it. Who didn’t know anything about Aaron’s life? Hell, he didn’t even know anything about the lead up to all of this. He didn’t know what Drake had said, what he had done.

If Drake had just left well enough alone, none of this would be happening.

He shook harder, unable to will himself to speak, especially not with the pain blooming from his face. He wondered if he'd lose a tooth.

Winona Soap​

 

[Winona]

Ava

She had come here for one reason and one reason only, and that had been to make things up with JJ. And get her mom to leave her alone about girly stuff or whatever. But Ava had quickly shied away finding JJ, and instead was alone. And annoyed. As usual.

Prom queen was announced, and Ava just rolled her eyes. Of course JJ had gotten it, but then--

"And prom king is... Avalon Sanders?"

Confusion went through the crowd because Ava was most definitely not a guy. She was waiting for someone to correct the mistake, but instead they were pushing her towards the stage. In a huff, she stomped up onto the stage to stand next to JJ, receiving the very kingly man crown.

"Alright listen up, I'm going to shove this crown in--"

"Wow, can we get another applause for our queen and king?" Erin said, cutting Ava off from her threat. "And how about making some room for their slow dance?"

They had to... dance? Slowly? Together.

Oh God.

Soap​

 

[Soap]

Raven

Raven had to admit, after hearing that... she would've wanted to punch him herself. But a glance down at the kid and you could tell he was already done for, given the much blood and pain stowed upon him. It was time for it to be over, he'll get punished even if it's in this hallway or not. Raven believed in karma and that alone is it's own punch in the face. She'd gotten beat up by it more times than she could count, she's just waiting for that good side of it to kick in.

Who knows? Maybe stopping Mason from killing a kid in this hallway would help turn her tides. "He's not worth it anymore." Raven grabbed his hand, intertwining their fingers together as she gently pulled on his hand indicating for him to come closer to her. "You're better than that." It wasn't just so he could stop, her words were true. Everyone always saw Mason as this bad guy when in reality he was just trying to get by, just like everyone else. He was someone who cared and maybe that's what made her fall for him in the first place.

"I know you are."

Winona​

 

[Winona]

Mason


The adrenaline finally started to die away, and Mason just felt tired. He let Raven pull him to his feet, his fingers intertwining with hers and squeezing her hand as if it was the only lifeline keeping him afloat. And yeah, maybe right now that's all he had to hold onto anymore. He still wanted to kill Aaron, but really, what would that get him?

He looked towards Raven, his breath coming in shaky waves. "I'm... not, though. This is what I do." He said slowly. For a moment he looked at the ground, but finally his eyes went from his hand holding Raven's, and then slowly up to catch her eyes. God, he still fucking loved her. What the fuck was wrong with him?

"Raven I really like you."

Soap​

 

[Dede]

Neck Tie

​

Neck Tie watched in horror as the nurses wheeled Grace away. He felt helpless just standing there and not knowing if she was going to be alright. The doctor's words did not calm his soaring nerves. Neck Tie hadn’t even noticed that there were tears in his eyes, until they had reached his cheeks.

Now once the reality of the occasion had settled, he was somehow left standing in the room with Grace’s mother. It was strange. Why hadn’t she followed the nurses outside? One sharp look from her set him in a panic and had him mumbling incoherent words. She was right. He didn't even know if Grace considered him a friend, despite the kiss that she gave him, because they rarely ever talked. He was a random boy in a wolf costume who just happened to be standing in the middle of her daughter’s room.

Grace’s mother was a scary woman. But she was not as scary as Sawyer. No one was as scary as Sawyer. Neck Tie had learnt this the hard way at a certain McDonalds. And so at the sight of Sawyer, the wolf took flight. He conveniently threw himself out the door while Sawyer was talking to Grace’s mother, and never looked back at the room.

He went to sit with Jace. Slumping down into the hard bench, he brought him up-to-date, and also asked how Ash was doing. Jace was trying to reach Elise on her cell phone, so Neck Tie also got the idea to get his own phone out. He decided to call his dad.

‘Hello?’

The signal wasn't great.

‘H. . . hi, Dad.’

‘I’ve heard about the car crash— Where are you?’

‘I’m. . . I’m at the hospital.’

‘Are you OK?’

‘Y. . . yeah. I came with Jace.’

‘How? -- I mean, Is everybody alright?’

‘N. . . no. I mean. . . Ash is really hurt. And Grace, she's in surgery.’

‘OK, stay there. We’re on our way.’

Martin was about to hang up the phone.

‘Dad?’

‘Yes.’

‘. . .I love you.’

His dad went quiet. He probably wasn't expecting those words from his son, and had been slightly taken aback by them.

’I know, Stu,' he finally said. 'I love you, too.’

While Neck Tie was in Grace's room, he had been reminded not only of the frailty of life, but also of how precious it was. He told his dad he loved him, because he still could say it while there was breath in his lungs. Neck Tie thought about how much Grace would have wanted to say the same to her mother, if only she'd had the chance. That chance had been taken from her. So unfairly, so cruelly.

But no one knew how to keep a smile in the face of sadness like Neck Tie did. Even if it was mostly fake. Even if it was to hide his sorrow from the scrutiny of the world. But deep down in his heart, he still knew that everything was going to be alright -- that Grace was going to be OK. If you knew where to look, the world was really full of love and of hope.

Soap KingofAesir